So you’re a fan of an NBA team other than the Cavs or T-Wolves (thank God) and you’re worried that your squad won’t be able to land in impact player in Thursday’s draft. Word on the street is that this year’s draft class is uglier than Shawn Marion’s jumper and conventional wisdom says that players drafted outside the lottery rarely pan out. Read More »

Some say the rap game is in shambles right now. There isn’t necessarily one guy you can say is on top of the game, and bits and pieces of free mixtapes and spins on Hot 97 are the only criteria we have to judge these guys. Remind you of anything? The 2011 NBA Draft is sort of in the same boat. We can’t crown one King, but we’ve definitely seen flashes of potential in all these guys. Read More »

With an NCAA Championship to his name, UConn wing Jeremy Lamb is getting greedy when it comes to the hardware. As one of 13 – soon to be 12 – members of USA Basketball’s U19 squad, Lamb has a chance to add a gold medal to his resumé in the FIBA U19 World Championship Tournament, which runs from June 30 to July 10 in Latvia. Read More »

As we briefly mentioned in Smack today, there are rumblings that the Spurs are using Tony Parker as bait to get into the top 10 in Thursday’s NBA Draft. Parker, a three-time All-Star who averaged 17.5 points and 6.6 assists last year, just recently turned 29 and still has three more years and $37 million left on his contract (plus a final year for $12.5 that is unguaranteed). Read More »

Can you believe it, the 2011 NBA Draft is under 36 hours away and most teams have an idea of what they are going to do. A few picks seem locked in, but other than that, this is going to possibly be the wildest and most unpredictable draft in recent memory. With new information and chatter, here is how things look to shake out on June 23rd at the Prudential Center in New Jersey: Read More »

Last season there was a lot of hope in New Jersey about the Nets. The team had acquired a bonafide superstar in Deron Williams, Brook Lopez continued to make his way into the conversation as one of the best centers in the NBA, and Kris Humphries emerged as a double-double threat from the power forward position. However, there was one glaring weakness on the Nets’ roster this past season, and that was at small forward. Read More »

It’s one thing to be deemed “marketable” by the media and your agent, and it’s another when brands actually buy-in and want you to pitch their products. So two days before he’s even drafted into the NBA, check out Kemba Walker‘s first commercial as he and some dude named Sweet Feet McGee talk about how to upgrade with Best Buy’s Buy Back Program.

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Is there ever a June superstar celebrity who’s bigger than David Kahn? Seriously, ever since Minnesota brought him in before the 2009 NBA Draft, Kahn has become a one-man show. A human catch phrase around this time. And now this year, we get the ultimate treat: knowing Kahn and his assortment of basketball scientists will be dictating the entire draft from the second spot. The Wolves are the most active team in the field, looking to trade down, out, half the team. Apparently, they want a star for the second pick. Good luck with that. Read More »

The story of LaRue Martin begins in a high school gymnasium in Chicago, Ill. The Mighty Meteors, as they were called: LaRue Martin was the tallest player on his varsity team.

There was a very telling photograph taken of his team that year. A photograph that accidentally and impeccably illustrated Martin’s natural personality. In the picture, the team is huddled around their coach who is on one knee having a word with his players. Off to the left, somewhat behind the huddle, is the 6-8 sophomore with his hands behind his back, peering over shoulders, a slight hunch in his stance. Read More »

Two weeks ago, we did a profile on Northern Illinois’ Xavier Silas that included a video of how he gets ready for NBA Draft workouts. Xavier agreed to give us insight into his style choices for the remainder of the draft process, and combined his last two outfits into one video. Today’s destinations are Chicago and Oakland.

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